Event

Become a part of history by participating in our Guinness World Record Official Attempt for ‘Largest Bagpipe Ensemble’ on Saturday, August 4th at the RCGAA Fields during our 2nd Annual Ceol Mór Bagpipe Competition!

The official attempt will happen during mass bands after the 2nd Annual Ceol Mór Bagpipe Competition hosted by the Rockland County AOH at the Rockland GAA fields. Participation is free and you do not need to be competing to join in the official attempt. If we break the record, individual Official Guinness World Record Certificates are available for purchase (pre-order necessary – see below for details).

The current record was achieved by 333 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living Foundation in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 16, 2012. The attempt used traditional Bulgarian “kaba gaida” bagpipes which are from the Rhodope region of Bulgaria.

QUALIFICATIONS
– Any and all bagpipes welcome. You do not need to participate in the bagpipe competition to join the post-competition mass bands for our Guinness World Record Official Attempt.
– Participation is free of charge.
– Kilts are not required to participate. There is no dress code.
– Drummers are welcome to participate, but the record attempt only applies to bagpipers.

CERTIFICATES
– Framed Individual Official Guinness World Record Holder Certificate + Individual Photo + Group Photo available to all participants for $125 per person.
– Framed certificate will be mailed to the address you provide below.
– You are not required to purchase a certificate in order to participate in the official attempt.
– If the record is not broken, payment for the certificate will be refunded.
– Note: certificates take a few months to order, frame, and mail. Please be patient and rest assured that you will receive your certificate as soon as this process is complete.

REGISTRATION & COST
– On Line Registration May Be Found Here
– Individual gate entry to contest and post-competition festival/concert included in the fee.

– Parking is free.
– Participants interested in purchasing the Official Guinness World Record Holder Certificate must submit payment online via PayPal immediately after registering here: http://www.rocklandcountyaoh.com/product/2018-ceol-mor-largest-bagpipe-ensemble-guinness-world-record-participation-certificate/

Mark Thompson, a founding member and CEO of Relatives for Justice, will be giving a talk at Hibernian House on January 12th at 7:00 PM. Relatives for Justice is a support group formed in the mid-1990s in Dungannon, Northern Ireland advocating for justice on behalf of the relatives of people bereaved, injured or affected by conflict-related violence during “The Troubles”. Despite commitments made in the Good Friday Agreement, twenty years on justice for the victims of the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland continues to be denied and actively obstructed.

Mark is himself a victim of Northern Ireland’s legacy of violence. On January 13, 1990, undercover British soldiers opened fire in a shoot-to-kill operation on the Falls Road Belfast. Three men were killed, among them Mark’s Brother Peter who was unarmed and shot at least 10 times. Eyewitnesses said they were shot without warning. Members of the British Parliament, local political and church leaders called for an independent investigation. The Director of Public Prosecutions declined to pursue the case without reason.

The lack of justice for Peter Thompson and hundreds of similar of case lead Mark to form Relatives for Justice to bring justice to the victims of state collusion and closure to the living. Recent decisions by the European Court of Justice have vindicated Relatives for Justice’s claims. Efforts to continue to escape accountability and the jurisdiction of the E.U. courts are a significant part of the British Government’s decision to pursue Brexit.

Please join us on January 12th to here first hand the true story of Relative’s for Justice continuing struggles to shed the light of truth into the dark corners of collusion in Northern Ireland. There will be a “meet & greet” at 7:00 pm, followed by Mark’s talk at 8:00 pm and concluding with refreshments at 9:00 including a cash bar.

It is with deepest regret we inform you that Pat Barry passed away yesterday in St. Louis. May she forever rest in peace.  Pat was a tireless worker in the cause of all things Irish in Rockland County and shall be sorely missed by all of us. 

Please keep Dan and the entire Barry family in your prayers.  Cremation and services will be held in St. Louis and the family plans to have a memorial service in Pearl River in the future but no plans have been finalized as of this time.  We will advise as soon as we hav more information. 

Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam.